The FloorTime approach was developed by Dr Stanley I. Greenspan as part of his developmental approach to therapy. Parents and floor-time therapists help children master the emotional milestones needed to develop a foundation for learning. The approach is based on his belief that emotions give meaning to our experiences, as well as a direction to our actions. Floor-time seeks to have the child develop a sense of pleasure in interacting and relating to others, and is done through play, based on the child’s interests, and creating an increasingly large circle of interaction between the child and an adult. Parents and therapists work on four goals: encouraging attention and intimacy; two-way communication; encouraging the expression and use of ideas and feelings; and logical thought.
The Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR/Floortime) Model is a framework that helps clinicians, parents and educators conduct a comprehensive assessment and develop an intervention program tailored to the unique challenges and strengths of children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental challenges. The objectives of the DIR/Floortime Model are to build healthy foundations for social, emotional, and intellectual capacities rather than focusing on skills and isolated behaviors. For more information, visit http://www.icdl.com/.